"Corbijn's movie is shot in a stunning high-contrast monochrome, perversely turning Macclesfield's grimness into grandeur . . . It is in a way comparable to Michael Winterbottom's 24-Hour Party People, in which Riley incidentally played Mark E Smith, but far fiercer, and bleaker, and darker. Control gripped the audience at Cannes; it had atmosphere." (Four stars out of a possible 5)

"There was a palpable buzz on the Croisette yesterday as Control, Anton Corbijn's film about Joy Division, was given its premiere - to immediate critical acclaim . . . A star seemed to have been born in Sam Riley, who plays Ian Curtis - pulling off, audiences agreed, an uncannily accurate and charismatic portrayal."